Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Manchester fire Capt. Steve DesRuisseaux flashes a thumbs-up sign and breaks a smile upon leaving Massachusetts General Hospital for his escorted trip home Monday. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

MANCHESTER — Veteran firefighter Capt. Steve DesRuisseaux, who suffered burns over 40% of his body while fighting the multiple-alarm blaze in a large Dutton Street apartment building three weeks ago, returned home Monday in the midst of a hero’s escort that accompanied him from the Boston hospital where he has been recovering.

His recovery process is expected to take several months, and include additional surgeries to repair the damaged areas of his body.

DesRuisseaux and his crew on Truck 1 were among the first to arrive at the scene of the fire, which broke out the evening of Saturday, Nov. 6.

Reports of several people trapped in the burning building prompted crews, including DesRuisseaux’s, to begin rescue operations.

He and his crew had just rescued a man from the building when the room DesRuisseaux was in exploded in a ball of flames, a condition commonly called a “flashover.”

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Manchester fire Capt. Steve DesRuisseaux gets a good luck handshake from a Boston firefighter, one of several who were on hand for DesRuisseaux's discharge Monday from Massachusetts General Hospitlal in Boston. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

Described as “fully engulfed in flames,” DesRuisseaux tried to bail out of the building, but equipment attached to his breathing apparatus got caught on the ladder.

Firefighter Josh Charpentier, who was at the base of the ground ladder on which DesRuisseaux got stuck, alertly pushed the ladder to the ground, which brought DesRuisseaux and Lt. Scott Brassard down and away from the flames.

Crews immediately extinguished the fire on DesRuisseaux and provided medical aid until an ambulance crew rushed him to the Elliot Hospital.

He was then flown to Massachusetts General Hospital.

As part of his specialized treatment in Boston, DesRuisseaux underwent three major surgeries to remove damaged skin and perform skin grafts in order to cover the wounds. One of the surgeries lasted for close to eight hours.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Manchester fire Capt. Steve DesRuisseaux gets a hug from one of many firefighters and others who turned out to welcome him home from the hospital Monday. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

Meanwhile, DesRuisseaux’s wife and two children spent nearly a month at the hospital while he received treatments.

Manchester Professional Firefighters IAFF 856 immediately began to coordinate support for his family with Boston Fire Fighter Local 718, and the Firefighter Burn Foundation.

Hotel accommodations, meals, and financial support were immediately available to members of DesRuisseaux’s family.

While DesRuisseaux received treatment in the hospital, his 17-year-old son, Jack, had several scheduled hockey games. Members of local fire departments showed up to all of his hockey games to cheer him on.

Outside of the hospital on Monday, firefighters from Manchester and Boston lined up as DesRuisseaux was transferred from a wheelchair to a vehicle for the ride home.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Members of a ladder truck crew from Londonderry salute from atop the vehicle as the line of vehicles escorting Manchester fire Capt. Steve DesRuisseax home from Boston passes under the overpass. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

Manchester Engine 11, the company that DesRuisseaux is assigned to, escorted him and his family along with Boston firefighters and Massachusetts state police units.

They escorted DesRuisseaux up I-93 to the state line, where New Hampshire state troopers took over and escorted him the rest of the way to Manchester.

–JEFFREY HASTINGS

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